Drinking affects your brain from the first drink. You may start to feel a nice buzz, an increase in confidence and start to feel relaxed. But every drink counts and drinking too much can be harmful to your health. By sticking to the recommended Australian Alcohol Guidelines you can minimise short and long term risks.
Alcohol affects the central nervous system and affects your mood, cognition and behaviour. Drinking inhibits your brain's functions so movement, coordination and speech are impaired.
Other effects include blurred vision, headaches, dehydration, aggression, depression, nausea, vomiting, black outs and sleep deprivation.
Excessive drinking can also lead to short-term risks including injury, violence, falls, drowning, unprotected sex and accidental death.
Heavy drinking while you're young can set you up for long-term risks including cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, brain damage, memory loss, anxiety, depression, weight gain, alcohol dependence, diabetes and sexual dysfunction.
Excessive drinking can affect all areas of a person's life, including family, work and personal relationships.
Binge drinking can cause arguments with your parents. It can also create relationship problems with your boyfriend or girlfriend that can lead to a break up. Most domestic violence incidents are linked with alcohol abuse.
No one feels like working or studying after a big night. Alcohol leads to hangovers, nausea, poor concentration, headaches or calling in sick, which all affect your productivity.
Driving after drinking might seem like an easy way home but it can lead to fines, loss of licence and even imprisonment. If you end up with a police record, this can affect your travel to another country or future employment.
Social problems from alcohol costs the Australian community $15 billion*. Alcohol is strongly linked to mental illness and disorders, as well as being the leading cause of disability in First-World countries.
*See Collins & Lapsley (2008) 'The avoidable costs of alcohol abuse in Australia and the potential benefits of effective policies to reduce the social costs of alcohol' report.
